Stephen D. Bechtel Jr. (BSCE '46) took over his family's global engineering and construction company, and was known for expanding the global footprint of the corporation through several of its international projects.

A research project led by Prof. Luna Lu using sensors that could safely speed up a construction timeline by determining concrete strength directly onsite in real time has been featured in ASCE's Gamechanger series. The series highlights innovative engineering projects that provide essential services to American citizens through resilient, efficient, cost-effective and/or creative methods.

Congratulations to Benjamín Colucci-Ríos, PhD, PE, F.ASCE, F.ITE, for being selected by ASCE's Transportation and Development Institute to receive the 2021 Wilbur S. Smith Award. This award, which was instituted in 1984, recognizes Dr. Colucci-Ríos for his "unending leadership and dedication to action for the improvement of road safety in Puerto Rico and around the world." This prestigious award will be presented at the International Conference on Transportation & Development/ Pavements, June 8-10, 2021.

Dr. Dimitri Athanasiou Grivas (PhD 1976) died on February 27 at the age of 72. He was a PhD student under Milton Harr and collaborated with him in the development of probabilistic methods in Geotechnical Engineering. He then joined the faculty of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Albany (NY) where he spent his whole academic career.

Andrea Rinaldo (PhD 1983), Professor of Hydrology and Water Resources and Director of the Laboratory of Ecohydrology at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, has been named a recipient of the 2021 Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award by the College of Engineering.

Anan Sheth, doctoral candidate in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering and part of Purdue's Innovation Science Lab was awarded a doctoral dissertation research improvement grant by the Decision, Risk, and Management Sciences (DRMS) program of the National Science Foundation.

A team lead by Mirian Velay-Lizancos, assistant professor of civil engineering, proposes adding small amounts of nanoscale titanium dioxide to the cement paste that makes up concrete. The team found that titanium dioxide, a powdery substance known best for its uses in sunscreen, paints, plastics and food preservatives, enhances concrete's natural ability to sequester carbon dioxide.

Becky McDaniel made a lasting impression on the asphalt industry. A talented engineer and pragmatic researcher, she was a genuinely kind and compassionate person, a devoted wife and mother, whose 35-year career inspired a generation of academicians, practicing engineers and road-construction personnel. On May 2, 2020, Becky’s unexpected death left everyone she touched with a heavy heart. We are celebrating her contributions to our field through this symposium.

CE alumnus Chris Burke (BSCE '77, MSCE '79, PhD '83, HDR 2010) has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer.

CE alumnus Hani Mahmassani (MSCE '78) has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer.

Thanos Tzempelikos, Professor in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering and Ray W. Herrick Labs, has been awarded the prestigious Leon Gaster Award from the Society of Light and Lighting as a co-author of the paper, "Cross-validation and robustness of daylight glare metrics," published in the esteemed journal Lighting Research and Technology in November 2019.

Ph.D. candidate Theodora Konstantinou has been awarded the 2019-2020 Greater Indianapolis Women's Transportation Seminar (WTS) Chapter Helene M. Overly Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship recognizes an outstanding graduate female in the transportation industry and academia.

Delon Hampton, esteemed academic, founder of a firm bearing his name that has grown for 48 years, and at the outset of the 21st century, ASCE’s first Black president, has died. He was 87.

Pablo Zavattieri, Jerry M. and Lynda T. Engelhardt Professor in Civil Engineering, has been appointed to the Defense Materials, Manufacturing and its Infrastructure (DMMI) Standing Committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Congratulations to Abdullah J. Nafakh for receiving the annual University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program's Outstanding Student of the Year Award. The award was given by the U.S. Department of Transportation's University Transportation Centers Program and the Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC).

How long it takes to construct a building depends in large part on when the concrete of each floor is strong enough to take on loads. Purdue engineers have developed sensors that could safely speed up a construction timeline by determining concrete strength directly onsite in real time. Purdue’s Engineering and Polytechnic Gateway Complex is a test bed for the new technology.

Congratulations to our CE student athletes: Alec Fleming (cross country), Kyle Griffith (cross country), Lexi Marks (soccer), and Alex Maxwell (football) on being named 2020 Academic All-Big Ten Honorees!

Patrick Conner and Laura Slusher were recognized as finalists for the 2020 College of Engineering Staff Awards of Excellence. Patrick Conner was named the recipient of the Professional Achievement Award, and Laura Slusher was a finalist for the Leah H. Jamieson Leadership Award.